'Planet B-Boy': Break-dancing goes global
Of hip-hop's famed four elements - rapping, DJing, graffiti writing and break-dancing or b-boying - the last one has gotten the least amount of attention. But in a new documentary directed by Benson Lee, "Planet B-Boy," the most athletic of the elements gets its star treatment.
It turns out that the global reach of hip-hop extends to b-boying. Lee chronicles teams from Korea, France, Japan and the United States competing in "Battle of the Year" finals in Germany. Entrants come from 18 countries, and the competition is fierce.
Lee says the impetus for the film was his love of break-dancing as a kid in the '80s, when it had a cultural moment. "I saw the movies and was totally mesmerized. I had to break out the cardboard," he says, referring to the use of flattened cardboard boxes as practice mats. While he never got past being a "closeted breaker" he says he never lost his love of dance.
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